Chapter 8 - The Sister No One Knew Existed
Sophie carried documents.
Birth certificates.
Photographs.
Medical records.
She had been born three years before Leo.
She had been raised outside the family.
Her mother had signed a confidentiality agreement.
But Amelia had known.
So had Leo's father.
Sophie wasn't there for money.
She was there because she was dying.
She had a rare blood disorder.
She needed a transplant.
And the only potential donor was Isla.
I felt sick.
“No.”
Sophie looked devastated.
“I would never hurt a baby.”
“Then why come here?”
“Because the doctors told me Isla could be a match.”
Leo stared at her.
“Who told you?”
She gave him a name.
Evelyn.
Everything connected.
Evelyn had used Sophie's illness to manipulate the family.
She had promised treatment in exchange for helping them maintain control over the company.
Sophie had unknowingly become part of the plan.
Leo took her hand.
“You're my sister.”
She started crying.
“I didn't know how to find you.”
He hugged her.
For the first time, Leo Mercer held another member of his family without suspicion.
I watched them.
Then I remembered Amelia's recording.
Trust her.
Maybe this was why.
Sophie gave us another file.
Inside was the truth about Amelia's death.
She had not been murdered.
She had died from a complication.
But the doctor had deliberately delayed treatment because Evelyn ordered it.
It was enough for criminal charges.
The truth finally came out.
The Mercer family fractured.
But Leo stayed.
He stayed with Isla.
He stayed with Sophie.
And he stayed with me.
One evening, he found me on the back porch.
“You saved my daughter.”
“She saved herself.”
“You saved me too.”
I smiled.
“You don't need saving.”
“I do from myself.”
He sat beside me.
“I don't know how to do this.”
“Do what?”
“Be happy.”
My heart tightened.
“You don't have to know yet.”
He looked at me.
“Will you teach me?”
I laughed softly.
“I'm not qualified.”
“You fed my baby on a plane.”
“That doesn't qualify me for emotional therapy.”
He smiled.
“Maybe it does.”
I looked at him.
He reached for my hand.
“I don't want to rush you.”
“Good.”
“I don't want to replace anyone.”
“You won't.”
“I don't want Isla to think you are her mother.”
I smiled.
“She knows who her father is.”
“What do you want to be?”
I looked toward the nursery.
“The person who loves her.”
He nodded.
“And me?”
I looked at him.
“You're complicated.”
“I know.”
“But I think you're becoming worth the trouble.”
He laughed.
It was the first time I had heard him laugh without sadness.
I leaned against his shoulder.
May you like
Neither of us said anything else.
But our hands remained together.
